Pipe holding apparatus



March 30, 1937. w. L. CHURCH 2,075,426

' PIPE HOLDING APPARATUS Filed March 1-, 1934 M J. ZZWL Patented Mar. 30, 1937 PIPE HOLDING arrana'rps Walter L. Church, Houston, Tex assignor of onehalf to W. L. Pearce, Harris County, Tex.

Application March 1, 1934, Serial No. 713,487

6 filaims.

This invention relates to pipe holding apparatus.

An object of the invention is to provide apparatus of this character designed to take the place of the conventional slips for holding pipe suspended in a well bore while the string of pipe is being made up or broken out, and which will not injure the pipe.

Another object of the invention resides in the I 10 provision of novel means for gripping and holding the suspended string against turning rela tive to the rotary table while a section is being unscrewed from or screwed onto the upper end of the string.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of novel means for handling the sections of pipe as the same are broken out of the string to be removed or are connected into the string.

A further object resides in the provision of novel means whereby the sections of the string, or other parts connected by threads, may be prevented from becoming screwed up too tight to the end that the joints so connected may be readily separated.

With the above and other objects in view. the invention has particular relation to certain novel features of construction, operation and arrangement of parts, an example of which is given in this specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 shows a side elevation of the ratus partly in section.

Figure 2 shows a plan view of the rotary table adapter and the pipe gripping jaws mounted therein.

Figure 3 shows a cross sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 shows a fragmentary side elevation.

Figure 5 shows the roller of a roller type of clutch employed, and

Figure 6 shows a side view of the complete as sembly.

In the drawing, the numeral l designates a drill stem or other pipe. At intervals along the string said string is connected by means of tool joints, consisting of the box member 2 having the internally threaded box 3 and the pin member 4 having the usual tapering pin to be screwed into said box.

The string of pipe is made up and. broken up at the tool joints in the well known manner.

In order to support the string of pipe suspended in the well and to hold the suspended string against rotation relative to the rotary app 9,-

table of the rotary drilling machine a novel type oisupporting and gripping device has been designed, which will now be described:

Seated in the rotary table 5 of the conventional rotary drilling machine there is an adapter made up of similar sections 6, 6. Preferably there will be two of these sections which are equipped with suitable handles 1, I, by means of which they may be handled. The adapter is countersunk into the top of the rotary table as shown in Figure 1 and is reduced and tapered downwardly to fit into the downwardly tapering seat of the rotary table. The adapter also has studs 1 extending outwardly therefrom into the vertical grooves 8 of the rotary table whereby the adapter is held against turning in the table. The adapter has a central vertical opening as 9 to receive the pipe I and around the upper end of this opening or passageway 9 the adapter has an annular countersunk seat I 0 to receive the pipe gripping jaws II which are seated therein. These jaws are arcuate in horizontal cross sectional contour to conform in shape to the surrounding wall of the seat l0 and their inner sides are provided with the vertical teeth l2 for a purpose to be hereinafter explained. The jaws are maintained in place by means of the bolts l3 which are suitably attached to the outer sides of said jaws and which extend out through vertical bearings I in the walls of the seat It). Reoesses l5 are provided in the top of the adapter for the insertion of these bolts and for access to them. Coil springs 16 surround the respective bolts I3 and are interposed between the enlarged heads at the outer ends 01' the bolts and the inner walls of. the recesses 15 whereby the gripping jaws II are normally held outwardly resting against the outer wall of the seat III, as shown in Figure 2. The jaws are separated or maintained in spaced relation by the lugs 11, which project inwardly on the surrounding wall of the seat I0. These lugs also prevent the jaws II from turning in the adapter and shearing the bolts l3 when the pipe held by said jaws is subjected to a torsional strain. The lower ends of the jaws have the inwardly extending ledges, or projections [8, which, when the jaws are in their upright position, are spaced above the bottom of the seat l0. When the adapter is seated in the rotary table about a pipe and the pipe is lowered, the box member 2 or other coupling member will land on the projections l8 moving the same downwardly and moving the jaws ll inwardly into gripping relation with said tool joint member or other coupling, and the string of pipe beneath will be not only suspended in the bore, but will be gripped and held against turning all without injury to the pipe. This type of pipe holding device is an improvement over pipe holding devices now in common use and embodying pipe holding slips for the reason that it'will not cut and injure the pipe and weaken it and cause it to be liable to twist oif as is the case when slips are used.

For the purpose of handling the string, a novel type of elevator, or pipe handling device, has been provided. This elevator comprises a housing I! whose lower end has an inwardly turned annular flange l8 provided with a bearing therethrough and a tubular stem l9 works through said housing and has a ring screwed, or otherwise secured, to the upper end thereof and located within the housing. A strong coil 30 spring 2! is located in the housing l! and surrounds the stem i9 and is interposed between the fiange i8 and ring 20. A tubular head 22 is screwed into the upper end of the housing i? and has the bail 23 pivoted thereto to receive the traveling block hook 24, whereby the elevator may be handled. The lower end of the stem i9 is enlarged and formed into a surrounding hood 25 having a centrally located, externally threaded tapering pin 26 adapted to be screwed 30 into the box 3. Rotatably mounted on the pin 26 there is a ring 27 having the upper and lower oppositely pitched teeth 28, 29. The ring 2? is retained in place by a set screw 3G which is threaded therethrough and whose inner end projects into the annular groove it around the pin 28. The hood 25 has an inside recess 32, formed with a cam face 33 which tapers to the left and toward the axis of the hood. A roller clutch member is mounted in this recess and'is composed of the spaced rollers 35 connected by the spindle 35. On the spindle 35 there is a bearing sleeve 38 somewhat shorter than the spindle, and in the bearing of which the spindle rotates. A handle 31 is attached to the sleeve 36 and works through a horizontal J-slot 38 cut through the hood 25. The right hand end-of the slot 38 is downwardly turned forming a notch to receive said handle to lock the clutch roller inactive. When the handle is released from said notch with the elevator connected to the box member 2 of the string, as shown in Figure 6, if the rotary table 5 be turned to the right to unscrew the tool joint immediately above said table and the section of the string above attempts to turn the roller clutch member will clutch the hood 25 with the joint member 2 therein so as to prevent the elevator pin 26 from being unscrewed and detached from said box member 2.

In use the elevator is handled by the usual traveling block of the derrick and may be connected to the box member 2 at the upper end of the string by screwing the pin 26, of the elevator, into said box member 2 as shown in Figure 1. When the pin is screwed home the teeth 29 will engage the end face of said box member 2 and the teeth 28 will engage the opposing member face 39 of the hood to the end that the connected parts cannot be screwed too tightly together so that they can be easily separated by the man up in the derrick.

The elevator, and attached string 01' pipe, are then elevated, the adapter 6 being meanwhile removed from the rotary table, until the next succeeding tool joint connection is above the rotary table and the adapter 6 is then again seated in the rotary table about the string and the string is then lowered until thetool joint member 2 seats on the projections l8 causing the jaws II to engage said tool joint member as hereinabove explained. A tong, as 40, is then applied to the pin member 4 and the tool joint broken and the rotary table is then started and turned to ro-' tate the suspended string and to thus unscrew the joint. The spring l1, meanwhile is under compression and when the joint is unscrewed the section of the string above the rotary table is lifted, by the expansion of said spring until the pin member at the lower end thereof clears the box from which it has been unscrewed and the broken out section may then disengage the roller clutch member by moving the handle 3'! to the left and engaging it in the notch of the J-slot and may then easily unscrew the pin 26 from the box 3 by turning the stem it to the left. This stem is equipped with the handles M, M, for this purpose.

In making up a pipe or drill stem in going into the well the elevator is attached to a section of the stem in the derrick and said section is lowered through the adapter in the rotary table until the tool joint member 2 is seated and held by the jaws it. The elevator is then detached and another section of the stem is picked up as before and attached to the suspended section in the rotary. The adapter is then removed from the rotary and the string is lowered. Before the upper end of the string, as thus made up, reaches the rotary table the adapter 6 is again seated in the rotary table about the pipe in readiness to receive the box member 2 at the upper end of the string, as before, and the process is continued until the string is fully made up. The drawing and description disclose what is now considered to be a preferred form of the invention by way of illustration only, while the broad principle of the invention will be defined by the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In combination, two adjacent tubular parts, one having an internally threaded box and the other having an externally threaded pin to be screwed into said box, an annular face on one of said parts and projecting teeth on the other part directed to bite into said face to limit the move.- rbnent of the pin toward home position in the 2. The combination with two adjacent tubular parts, one having an internally threaded box and the other having an externally threaded pin to be screwed into the box and also having a hood to surround the box, clutch means within the hood movable to inactive position to allow the pin to be screwed into the box and movable to active position to prevent the unscrewing of the pin from the box.

3. The combination with two adjacent tubular parts, one having an internally threaded box and the other having an externally threaded pin to be screwed into the box and also having a hood to surround the box, of clutch means within the hood movable to inactive position to allow the pin to be screwed into the box and movable to active position to prevent the unscrewing of the pin from the box, one ofsaid connected parts having an annular face and teeth on the other part engageable with said face to limit the movement of the pin toward home position in the box.

4. The combination with two adjacent tubular parts, one having an internally threadedbox, and

the other having an externally threaded pin to be screwed into said box and also having a hood shaped to fit closely around the box, said hood having an inside recess formed with a camdace which tapers toward the axis of the hood and in a direction the opposite of that of the pitch of the threads, spaced rollers mounted in said recess, a spindle connecting said rollers, a bearing on the other part engageable with said face to limit the movement of the pin toward home position in the box.

5. In drilling apparatus, two adjacent tubular parts, one having an internally threaded box and the other having an externally threaded prln adapted to be screwed into the box and having an external annular shoulder facing the box, a ring around and secured on the pin adjacent the shoulder, said ring being positioned to engage the facing end of the box when the pin is screwed home, the margin of the ring engaging the box having a plurality of sharp projections arranged to penetrate into the material of the end of the box engaged by the ring, whereby to limit the homeward movement of the pin into the box.

6-. In drilling apparatus two adjacent tubular parts, one having an internally threaded box and presenting an annular end face and the other having an externally threaded pin adapted to be screwed into the box and also having an external annular shoulder presenting an annular race which confronts the end face of the box, a ring around and secured on the pin adjacent the shoulder and-positioned to engage the facing end of the box when the pin is screwed home, one margin of the ring having a plurality o1 sharp projections arranged to penetrate into the material of the adjacent face whereby to limit the homeward movement of the pin into the box.

WALTER L. CHURCH. 

